GAFFER EXCITED BY STRENGTH IN DEPTH

Wigan Athletic’s impressive start to the 2012-13 season picked up more momentum last night as Roberto Martinez sent out a side that showed themselves more than capable of handling themselves, as they beat Nottingham Forest 4-1 in the Capital One Cup 2nd round.

Players that have been previously unused this season played influential roles in the performance.

Ronnie Stam assisted in the opening goal, Albert Crusat teed up Jordi Gomez for his emphatic long range strike and Callum McManaman rounded off the game as he linked up with debutant Ryo Miyaichi.

Martinez said.

“I was very pleased because we made seven changes and everyone who came in was competitive and really showed what they can do.

“Overall the performance was exactly what we wanted and the players that were desperate to play really showed what they can do.

“We have got a very competitive squad and we want to win every game.

“To do that you need a squad of players that is ready to take on every challenge and I think those players showed exactly that.

“When you look at the games that we made this many changes in over the last two seasons, we weren’t capable of competing as highly as we did against Forest.”

It was never going to be any easy fixture, against a Forest side unbeaten in their opening three games of the season and Martinez was happy to make a little piece of history.

“We knew it was going to be a difficult evening because I feel that Nottingham Forest are trying to build something special for the future.

“What pleased me most was that when we went down to ten men we knew how to react to it and we knew how to stop the threat and stop Forest from getting another goal.

“The history of the fixture always plays in the back of your mind, especially when you are coming into a ground like this with all of the history it has.